The city is offering a pilot program for recycling election signs.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Following Monday’s election, Hatters are removing campaign signs across the city, and in an effort to limit waste, the City of Medicine Hat has created a new pilot program to recycle them.
Signs for mayoral, council and school board trustee candidates can be recycled at the Kipling Bulk Recycling Depot from Oct. 19-28.
A bin marked ‘Election Signs Only’ is available to deposit signs into. Wire and wooden stakes must be removed prior but can be recycled separately at the depot.
Shane Briggs, solid waste superintendent with the city’s assets department, told the News that with the high number of candidates running this year, recycling campaign signs made sense.
“It would be all for naught if we just put it in the garbage,” said Briggs. “Everything that goes into those bins, they bale it and ship it to the material recycling facility.”
The recycled signs could be turned into anything from milk jugs to plastic lumber, Briggs says.
The city stated in a release that, “We encourage candidates to collect, keep and reuse their signs if considering a future campaign, but for signs that are damaged or not reusable, we’re thrilled our staff are able to offer this environmentally-responsible opportunity to recycle.
